Ecology

Special Abilities

Poison Spray (Ex) Once per day, an injured Cassomir stray can spray its fetid blood and bodily fluids from a wound in a 15-foot cone, dousing enemies in hallucinogenic chemicals. Creatures affected by the poison are confused until they succeed at a Fortitude save to resist the poison’s effects. Derros are immune to the Cassomir stray’s poison.

Subterranean derros obsess over the curious nature of humanoid anatomy, but many have only limited access to test subjects. When humanoids—large, loud, and panic stricken as they are—don’t readily present themselves, the meandering attention of derro science turns to the lesser creatures that live in humanity’s shadow. In Cassomir and other large cities where derros have established a presence, the creatures often pluck cats, dogs, and other stray animals from the streets for cruel experiments. Many die in these twisted experiments, but just as many end up as tentative successes, living miserably to be studied until their creators grow bored and return them to the streets above. While natives of the port city don’t suspect the origins of the so-called “Cassomir strays,” and in fact even debate the veracity of their existence, rumors of the beasts are common enough that mothers warn their children against playing in the streets after dark.

Cassomir strays are hostile to all other creatures except derros. Their bodies are patchwork affairs, cobbled together from various captives and sustained by strange derro fluids. Since the Cassomir strays are incapable of breeding, only continued derro experimentation maintains their sparse numbers. Despite this, they are only occasionally encountered within derro enclaves. In such environments, strays instinctually keep to the long shadows of alleys or the comforting murk of sewers. They are natural swimmers and adept climbers, able to traverse almost any urban environment with ease. If badly injured, a Cassomir stray can spray the murky fluids that give it life, creating terrifying hallucinations in nearby creatures.

Although hugely variable in appearance and size, most Cassomir strays are 2–3 feet long and weigh about 30 pounds. Mutations and variants are common.